More Sharpening Tips from Leonard Lee

Dear Mr. Lee,

I will try to be specific. I sharpen knives for the restaurant industry and currently I use a two-step process with a 2×72 Trizact A100 belt from 3M and then a soft cloth wheel with white buffing compound to polish off the burr.

I was told about a wet belt grinder that was seen at a woodworking show that I thought would be safer, cooler and more dust free than what I am doing now but I can't track this machine down. Do you know of any wet belt grinding machines? Not a wet grindstone sharpening machine. Do you know of any belts that would work if they did get wet?

To be cooler and more dust free would be an ideal situation and I'm always looking to make a better end product and a safer work environment.

B.M.
World-Wide Web

Leonard Lee's Response

In reply to your question, I am not aware of a wet belt sharpening system but see no reason why one could not be made.

Regarding the belts themselves, I use a dry zirconia belt for shaping and a dry 600 grit silicon carbide belt for finishing. The latter is a Mylar belt made by 3M.

If I remember correctly, the Trizact belt is waterproof. Certainly the 600 grit silicon carbide is waterproof but I do not know if 3M makes it in the size you need. They make it in a 1"×30" and a 1"×42" for us. I find the 600 grit silicon carbide to be all that is needed unless a knife has been heavily steeled. Then, a bit of reshaping on the 120 grit zirconia is needed. Where I want a very fine edge (rather than one with a slight tooth to it) I deburr on a medium felt wheel dressed with chromium oxide. I find that a cloth wheel rounds the edge too much.

I realize that you were only looking for a source for a wet belt sharpening system, but I have benefited from knowing how others did things and, since I could not tell you where to get a wet belt sharpening system, I threw in the rest in an attempt to be of some assistance.